Central Library
by Penelope Jadewing
Summary: Because Edward Elric and Elliot Nightray in the same room equals hilarious chaos. Two egos clash, names are tossed, and a dangerous secret is revealed. LONG ONESHOT.


**A/N: Okay, so I just started watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood... I consider myself a mild fan, but I had to write this crossover because... seriously. The Egotistic Edward Elric and Elliot Nightray (dang, Elly, your last name spoils the alliteration...) in the same room? Yeah. I couldn't resist.**

**There are spoilers for Pandora Hearts from Retrace 59 and beyond, as well as mild spoilers for Fullmetal Alchemist.**

**Enjoy, those who read. Reviews are love. X3**

**~Penelope**

* * *

This library seriously had nothing of value. Really.

Oh, sure, it had plenty of tomes and volumes galore, and Elliot could smell the age of the thousands of pages residing here on these endless shelves. It was a scent he rather cherished, something that always put him at ease. It reminded him that there were worlds out there that many didn't know, and never would know until they cracked open the cover of a timeless classic. Those poor, stupid people didn't know what they were missing.

Of course, though, the level of enjoyment in the reader depended on the content of the book. And for the past hour, all the young Nightray had managed to find was a bunch of tiresome three-inch books suited only for the very desperate student, or the obsessed researcher.

Worse still, this library lacked life. There was nobody here, and while Elliot quite liked solitude (so long as Leo was around; silence when he was alone unnerved him), he liked a little variety now and then. It didn't seem right that a library of all places would be so empty and quiet. It felt so dead, and he didn't know whether that made him sad or angry.

He flipped through the worn pages of yet another volume in hopes of finding a good, swashbuckling tale to suit his fancies, but all he found was more ridiculous scientific gobbledygook. A harsh groan finally escaped his throat, and he shoved the volume back onto the shelf.

"I don't get it. This is the fiction section, for crying out loud!" he growled, scanning the shelves before him. When they had asked the librarian directions to their fiction area, she had happily led them to this tiny little corner in the back and chirped 'hope you find what you're looking for, boys!' before walking off again.

Yes. He had been searching this single corner for something worth reading for a whole hour.

Leo, who seemed to have found something of interest to him, barely glanced up at his master's complaint. "Well, this library is under the management of the federal system here… I think it's more of an archive than anything."

"But they call it a library! I'd say that's a little more than a bit misleading!"

"Show a little appreciation, at least. It was like pulling teeth for your father to even get us in here."

He snorted ungracefully. Finally, Elliot waved away the shelves, turned around, and leaned back on them with a huff, folding his arms over his chest. "I give up. Why did Father have to drop us off here?"

"Maybe because you asked him to." Leo flipped a page.

"Why did we have to come here, then?" Elliot, at this point, was determined to find _something _to complain about.

"Didn't your father say something about getting a taste of the international political circles, or some nonsense like that?"

"Some nonsense like that, yeah." With a sigh, Elliot closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the books. The smell of old paper and ink was even stronger this close to them. Dust wafted around them, glittering in the sunlight like specks of floating gold.

The front doors burst open with dual bangs. The silent atmosphere shattered. Slightly offbeat footsteps and clanking metal sent a racket over the bookshelves, and Elliot couldn't even see who'd come in. All he knew was that they were incredibly loud, and incredibly rude, obviously, to come charging into a library with that kind of noise.

"I need to see all the records you have on the Ishbal rebellion!" blared a juvenile voice from up front, and the librarian's flustered squeaking followed.

"Uh… er… I-I'm sorry, little boy…"

"HEY WHO ARE YOU CALLING A LITTLE PIPSQUEAK, LADY? DON'T YOU KNOW IT'S RUDE TO MAKE FUN OF PEOPLES' HEIGHTS? I'M FIFTEEN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, YOU WOULD THINK PEOPLE WOULD GET THIS BY NOW!"

"Hm, he sounds like you," mused Leo, finally looking up from his book just in time to duck down again as Elliot threw the nearest tome at his bespectacled face.

"SHUT UP!" he blared.

"See?" Leo smirked.

"Uh, brother…" came a second voice from the front, younger. Something was extremely off about it, but Elliot couldn't quite place it. "You know, she didn't say that…" The young boy – from the sound of it – sighed. "I apologize for my brother, ma'am. He always does this."

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" snarled the first voice.

"Um… No?"

"She's probably new here, brother."

It was the first boy's turn to sigh now, and he did so wearily. Elliot smirked, finding the whole unseen scenario very amusing.

"The name's Ed Elric, state alchemist. This is my brother, Alphonse."

The librarian gasped so loud, the sound echoed through the empty building. "Elric… then you must be… the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

Elliot swore he heard something break, but figured he was just hearing things, and rubbed an ear so he could hear the response.

"Um… actually…"

"THAT'S ME, YOU IDIOT! WHY DOES EVERYONE ASSUME IT'S HIM!?"

"Wow, he is _really _like you," Leo repeated, and Elliot tried his hardest to resist the urge to tackle his servant. But of course, that would only serve to prove his point. So he stayed silent.

"I-I'm s-so s-sorry, sir! Please forgive me!"

"Ugh, just show us where we can find that material, and we'll call it square."

"Um… b-but, you see…"

"Colonel Mustang sent me for it, okay!? Is that enough to get us in!?"

There was a long pause, and then the shuffling of feet. "I… I guess… B-But if I get in trouble, I'll be sure that you take the rap for it!"

"…Fair enough."

More footsteps echoed over their heads, and Elliot watched the main aisle to see if they would come back this far. Leo, in the meantime, had returned to his book.

The librarian spoke again. "What you're looking for should be just back there."

"All right, thanks a… lot."

The younger voice – Alphonse, by the introduction – sounded irritated. "Look what you did. You offended her!"

"SHE OFFENDED ME FIRST!"

A loud metallic thunk followed, and then the sound of something heavy thumping on the floor. "You're an idiot, Ed."

"Geez, Al, it's my arm that's made of auto mail, not my head," said the older one, sounding withered this time. That same strange metallic thumping started again.

"Let's just find what we came for, brother. Then we can go back, and you can apologize to her."

"Yeah, sure, whatever…"

The footsteps got louder as they came closer, and unfortunately for Elliot (who was thinking he was finally getting some entertainment), stopped just short of their little corner.

"Was this the aisle she said?" said Ed.

"It was this general area."

"Well, that helps a lot. There's only _hundreds of books in this general area_!"

"If you hadn't been so rude, she probably would have been more specific."

Elliot peered through the bookshelves, trying to catch a glimpse of the patrons that sounded like they were just on the other side. The first thing that caught his attention was a massive suit of blue-grey armor. And it was moving. Well, that was a bit of a strange wardrobe to wear in public… Didn't he get hot in there?

He saw the top of a blond head beside the armor. Judging by the conversation – or explosion, rather – that he'd overheard with the librarian, this was Ed. Because his first assumption would have been that the guy in the armor was the Fullmetal Alchemist (whatever that meant).

Also, the suit of armor would explain the strange tinny sound to Alphonse's voice.

"I guess we should start looking," Ed said. Elliot had to stand on his tiptoes and angle his gaze over the books just right just to be able to see his face. He had gold eyes, like Gilbert. "You start over there, I'll start here."

"Okay."

Contrary to their height, it sounded as if Ed was the older brother, and Alphonse was the younger. It certainly made for an odd sight. As often as he could see them, anyway. Half the time, all he could see was a narrow line of the armor's chestplate, and the top of Ed's hair.

"Wow, he really is short," Elliot muttered, more to himself than to Leo. He glanced back at his servant. "I'd bet he's shorter than that Vessalius brat."

"You really shouldn't talk about people behind their backs," Leo responded absently. "Strangers, or acquaintances."

"YEAH, WHAT DO YOU MEAN, CALLING ME A PUNY LITTLE SHRIMP!? DO YOU MAKE A HABIT OF INSULTING RANDOM PEOPLE IN THE LIBRARY!?"

Elliot jumped, and whirled back to his spy slot, only to meet the gaze of a pair of very angry golden eyes. He raised his eyebrows. Was he climbing on the shelves just so he could look Elliot in the eye?

"Yes, it would seem he does," Leo answered for him.

Elliot threw another book at him. He dodged.

"Twice in five minutes, Ed? Really?" Alphonse sighed.

"HOW IS IT MY FAULT THAT EVERYBODY WHO SEES ME FEELS THE NEED TO COMMENT ON MY HEIGHT?"

"Just let it alone…"

Ed growled, and backed away from the bookshelves. "No way! I'm sick of this!"

"Brother, wait, what are you doing!?"

Ed was clearly making his way around the bookshelf at a march. "Dealing with this jerk!"

"You're both jerks, really," said Leo.

"I can deal with you, too, four-eyes! I can take on both of ya!" With a flourish of his red coat, Ed Elric stepped around the corner into their aisle, glaring up a storm.

Elliot really wasn't impressed. He'd seen scarier things in a litter of kittens. And while a litter of kittens might scare Gilbert to death, Elliot was more of a cat person.

"Aww, looking at the little pipsqueak, Leo; thinks he's so tough."

He heard Leo groan, and thump his face against the book he was reading. "Ugh, Elliot, why…"

Elric nearly burst a vein. "Why I aughta-"

"Oh, did I insult the puny little shrimp? That's too bad. Really. I feel awful." Elliot smirked. Finally, something entertaining. Actually, he might've just been taking out his frustration at the world in general right now on this volatile little brat. "See there? I actually _did _say that."

"AAAAGH I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Brother, stop!" Alphonse swiped at Ed from around the corner, but missed by a second and a half. Ed lunged forward, just as Elliot swung the violin case from his shoulder.

He undid the clasps. Ed raised his left hand in a fist.

A black blade rung against its sheath as it was drawn, and Ed screeched to a halt when the point settled at his throat.

Elliot snickered, and tsked mockingly. "You know, I don't mind being called names. Tit for tat, give and get, and all that. But nobody… insults my valet."

Really, he just wanted a good excuse for a good fight, but the Elrics didn't need to know that.

"Oh, yeah, I'm real scared." Elric took a few steps back, and clapped his hands together. "Chew on this!" Blue light crackled, and a long, broad blade extended from his arm.

A sword. GREW. From his arm.

Elliot stared, dumbfounded, sword arm faltering. "What the…"

"Hm, so this really isn't the fiction section," quipped Leo. "They really have mastered the ultimate form of chemistry here."

"Duh! Haven't you morons seen alchemy before?" Ed held his blade at the ready, looking ready and itching for a battle.

"Can't you hear their voices, brother?" Alphonse stood behind Ed, hands up. He looked just as ready to snatch his shorter brother up as Ed did for a fight. "I don't think they're from around here."

"See, your big brother's smart." Elliot was pleased by the look of rage that intensified on Ed's face. "He actually listens to other people."

"That must mean he's smarter than you, too, Elliot," said Leo.

"OH SHUT UP WOULD YA?"

Ed took the moment to lunge forward again. Elliot planted his feet, hurrying to straighten his sword for impact.

But none came. Ed froze, suspended in the air by a pair of massive metal arms. No matter how he flailed and cursed and wriggled, Alphonse wasn't about to let go, either.

Somehow, Elliot felt a little disappointed. A sigh escaped him as his shoulders sagged.

"LET ME GO AL, I GOTTA KILL THIS GUY!"

"No, you can't!"

"I CAN AND I WILL, DANG IT, I SWEAR! I'LL BEAT THE PULP OUT OF THAT PRETTY FACE UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT BUT BLACK AND BLUE AND THEN I'LL DISSECT HIM AND RECONSTRUCT HIM AND THEN BURY HIS REMAINS AND THEN DIG THEM BACK UP AND CLONE THEM AND THROTTLE ALL HIS CLONES!"

"Oh yeah, I'm real scared," Elliot deadpanned, sheathing his sword again. Shame, he was really itching to use it…

"AND YOUR VALET, TOO, I'LL TEACH HIM A THING OR TWO!"

Something snapped.

"But why? What did he do, brother?" Alphonse dragged a flailing blur of fists and Ed back.

"I DON'T KNOW! JUST LET ME AT 'EM!"

With a wave of nausea, everything went dark.

* * *

_"Brother…"_

_"JUST SHUT UP, AL, AND LET ME GO!"_

_"Brother, you'd better stop."_

_"WHY SHOULD I? I'D SAY I HAVE A GOOD REASON TO BE UPSET!"_

_"Ed, look!"_

_"E-Elliot…"_

_Glen. Glen. _

_The pipsqueak had threatened Glen. GlEn MuSt Be PrOtEcTeD. AT ALL COSTS. All he had was that delicate sword. This small human was powerful, and without the assistance of the Abyss, it seemed…_

_Perhaps he would need his true form for this. Not too much. Too much would tax his symbiotic human. He couldn't afford to use up time to quickly, now. Not now. Glen was still in danger. Always in danger. GlEn NeEdEd HiM._

_"ELLIOT, NO!"_

_The Elrics shrieked._

_Humpty Dumpty laughed._

* * *

Ed had to try very hard to keep his gaze from drifting to the door on the far side of the room. The door behind which lay the jerk he'd met at the library, unconscious. Ever since Alphonse knocked him out, he hadn't woken back up. Leo, the kid with the big round glasses, seemed pretty concerned.

But not so much about his master's health, it seemed. More about what Ed and Al saw. Obviously, it was something they weren't supposed to see.

"What was that thing?" he said quietly as Leo set out tea. Maybe it was his way of apologizing for everything that had happened. The china was extremely fine; but that might've just come from the fact that they were sitting in the parlor of the massive suite that these guys were staying at during their time in Amestris.

Leo glanced up from pouring the tea, only for a second. No matter how hard he tried, Ed couldn't see his eyes under all that black hair, plus the lenses. "…Our country has its secrets, just as I'm willing to bet yours does."

"Well, for some knowledge on that kind of power, I'd be willing to swap some stories." Ed leaned his elbows on his knees.

Leo set the kettle back down on the tray with a little more force than was probably necessary when he was finished pouring. "It's not a power, idiot."

Ed swallowed, covering it up with a nervous chuckle. "Hey, take it easy! How was I supposed to know?"

The black-haired boy didn't laugh along, or even relax. In fact, as he sat down on the sofa, he remained rigid and tense.

"It's not his fault," Leo muttered.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Why would it be anybody's fault?"

At this, Ed woulda swore he saw Leo flinch.

"It's… a long story."

"We have time."

"Is Elliot in some sort of trouble?" Al asked quietly, his metallic voice interrupting the somber atmosphere and saturating it with legitimate concern.

For a long time, Leo studied them in silent. It was unnerving really; Ed had no idea what was going on behind that solemn face because he couldn't see his eyes. And that made him nervous.

Finally, Leo sighed. "It… Well… You're state authorities here, right?"

Ed blinked. "Well, yeah, I am."

"Maybe I'd feel better about saying something if you ordered me to tell you the truth."

Say what now? Eyebrows raising, Ed stared at the older boy – he was older right? That was the only reason why he was a little taller than him… - in shock. "Um… Okay… Tell us the truth."

Then, Leo took a breath, and began to weave a fantastic story. A story about a lonely orphan boy, and a brash scion of a noble house. About their meeting, their fighting, and eventually their friendship. A story that led to the scion asking the orphan to be his personal servant, and to come and live at a rich manor house, to live in luxury rather than poverty. To actually have a family again. A story that included the scion's cruel older siblings, and quiet, mysterious adopted siblings. A story that eventually ended up in a giant hole in the ground, a gateway to a realm that Leo called 'the Abyss'. A place of endless darkness and terror, contrary to what some of his countrymen said.

And there, in a place called Sablier, Ed began to get really interested.

"We kept going further and further; the children had wandered more than we thought." Leo swallowed, and then continued whispering, as if somebody was nearby that wasn't supposed to hear a word of what he was telling them. "And then… we found them."

"W-What happened to them?" Al asked when it seemed like Leo would stop there.

The valet sighed. "They were dead. They'd been impaled. One more little girl was sitting a ways away, in hysterics. I was just starting to get the story out of her when… it showed up."

"It?" Ed wondered if Leo always told stories like this, pausing for effect and using vague phrasing for suspense.

"A Chain."

A what?

"A creature of the Abyss – as I found out later, one that hadn't been seen actively for decades. One of the children had made a contract with it… It was huge, and hovering right over us."

"Was that the thing we saw today?" Ed asked.

Leo nodded somberly.

The memory of that giant bulbous creature materializing behind Elliot, deformed with numerous limbs and blank, empty holes for its many eyes, mouth gaping wide and lined with row upon row of teeth, its tongue slashing through the air like a twenty-foot blade… Yeah, Ed could admit it had made him squeak just a little.

He glanced at Al, who shuddered.

Okay, maybe a little more than squeak, but whatever.

"Elliot… Elliot pulled out his sword, and charged the thing; he was just trying to protect me. How was he supposed to know that it wouldn't dare harm a hair on my head… Then again, it didn't know that Elliot was the same way. And so… thinking that Elliot was charging _me_ rather than it… the Chain ran him through with that tongue of its."

Ed's eyes widened. But that meant… "How the heck is he still alive, then? If what you say is true, this was two years ago."

"It was. The Chain is what kept him alive; its known powers are… well, forgetting. Covering up. It sealed the wound as if it had never happened, delaying the inevitable for at least… a while. And next time we talked about it, I discovered that that covering up applied to memory as well. Elliot was… confused. But those of us that knew what really happened – his father and I – spun a slightly believable story for him. Duke Nightray didn't want anyone knowing that his son was an illegal contractor."

"Illegal?" Ed and Al shared a glance.

Leo waved away the question. "It's just another long story. It's a bad thing, that's all."

"So, what does he _think_ happened?" Al's turn to question.

"Since then, he's been under the impression that he slipped and hit his head on a rock. And he's extremely embarrassed about it."

"I can imagine," Ed snorted. "I do have another question though – how did _you_ know that the Chain would do that? Save him, I mean."

Leo straightened, hesitating. "Well… I had a little help, I suppose."

"From who? The kids?" Ed frowned, hearing Leo's hesitance and wonder just how deep this story went.

"No… I…" Leo sighed, hanging his head. "Oh, who cares about secrets anymore; it's going to come out sooner or later, and it's not like you two are from my country anyway… I am who everybody in my country knows as 'the next Glen Baskerville'. It's a noble house that was blamed for the tragedy that dragged that city down… and the Glen is the head of it."

"But why are you a servant, then?" Al asked innocently.

"I was hiding from it. I used to just think I was weird, but then… on that incident, the voices in my head grew faces, and I realized what they actually were – past Glens, all of them. That's how it works. And the Chain, Humpty Dumpty, was just trying to protect me as its leader when it thought Elliot was going to hurt me."

Al gasped. "So, when Ed threatened you in the library, even if he didn't mean it…"

"Humpty Dumpty doesn't know the difference. It saw you as a threat to me." Leo gave Ed an apologetic look.

Ed was still trying to wrap his head around all this. It was bizarre, granted, but so was alchemy to outsiders, and as Leo had said – his country had its secrets just the same as Amestris. "I had no idea…"

"How could you? It usually doesn't show itself like that." Leo rubbed a hand over his forehead. "I just… I'm sorry. You could have been killed."

"But I wasn't."

Alphonse nodded. "And it's not your fault."

"Yes, it is! Don't you get it?" If Ed could see his eyes, Leo would probably have been glaring. "If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have the Chain. His… his siblings wouldn't have been murdered; it got blamed on a serial killer called the Headhunter, but I don't believe a word of it. His oldest brother turned up dead and beheaded, and Humpty Dumpty is a mimicker. It passed the blame. If it weren't for me, Elliot wouldn't be having nightmares that keep him up night after night, he wouldn't forget things that he'd normally remember."

"And if it weren't for you, he'd be dead," Ed interrupted matter-of-factly. "Geez, don't be so hard on yourself. You did more than any normal person could have in that position."

"But… The last Glen himself told me, and it's true, that if it weren't for me being the next Glen, Humpty Dumpty wouldn't have felt the need to protect me from what he saw as potential harm. If I wasn't Glen… if I was just a normal kid like everybody else, he would have lived."

"He's alive now," Al insisted, and Ed nodded curtly. "Shouldn't you be happy for that?"

"It's barely living. It's all just a façade. Elliot thinks everything is fine… but everything's so wrong, and one of these days, the seal is going to complete, no matter what Duke Nightray did with the House of Fianna, and… and that will be a worse fate than death for him. And it's all because of me."

Ed sighed heavily. Boy, these guys had really gotten themselves in a fix. Leo had a point; it did seem like everything pointed to him, but a guilt complex like that really couldn't be healthy. This whole story sounded like some kind of tragedy play, where everything went wrong and all the heroes died. If he was in Leo's place, and Al in Elliot's, he'd probably be in the same shape, though. He already had a hard time not struggling with the fact that, no, Al didn't blame him for what happened to them. He had to constantly reassure himself of that, and it kept him sane. But Leo… he had to keep it all a secret from his friend. He had to hold it all in. Maybe he had convinced himself that Elliot would blame him if he knew, but since he didn't, Leo just blamed himself.

"Leo?"

The three sitting around the coffee table jumped, and whirled to face the voice that had come out from the bedroom. Elliot himself stood in the doorway, hand resting on the doorknob. And by the conflicted expression on his face, he'd been there just long enough…

Leo visibly gulped.

Now Ed felt sorry for him.

"All this…" Elliot frowned, staring at the floor, absently rubbing a place on his chest. "When were you planning on telling me?"

"I… Elliot…"

"Didn't you think I might want to know this stuff!?" Elliot spat.

Leo's face hardened. "I tried once, and you wouldn't listen!"

"Well, that wasn't _my_ fault!"

Ed glanced at his brother. Al glanced back, nodded, and they both gripped the nearest pillow. Alphonse threw his at Elliot, while Ed aimed for Leo. Leo ducked; cheeky four-eyes must've been used to having things thrown at him for those kind of reflexes. Elliot, on the other hand, did not, and the pillow easily silenced him by thumping in his face.

"Stop it!" Al snapped. "You two arguing about it isn't going to change, or help anything!"

"Help?" Elliot gripped the pillow in a fist. "You think anything could actually _help_ this situation?"

"Well, we used to be searching for something that might've helped…" Al glanced at Ed again, who nodded.

"Something called the philosopher's stone," he finished.

"But?" Elliot grumbled, coming closer just to drop the pillow back between them on the sofa.

"But… well, let's just say, we've given up that search." Ed didn't want to think about what they'd found out through Marcoh's research.

"We could take them to Dr. Marcoh, brother," said Al.

Ed wrinkled his nose. "That guy's so wrapped in red tape right now, he looks like a mummy… There's no way the Fuhrer would let us take two foreigners to see him. Besides, he doesn't have the stone anymore, remember?"

"Oh, yeah…"

"You're not really helping." Elliot stood over them, and folded his arms with that same arrogant air that made Ed fume.

"We're tryin', here, pal, so why don't you come down off your high horse and help us brainstorm!?" Ed barked, only to be whapped by his brother. As he clutched his smarting head, Al sighed.

"Don't you start too, brother."

"Could you try to remember when you're hitting me that you're kinda made of a GIANT SUIT OF ARMOR!?"

Al didn't say anything back, and so Ed took a deep breath, and let it out slow. "Okay. Thinking."

He glanced up at the noble standing behind them. Every once in a while, it almost looked like Elliot was in pain. Was continuing to remember what really happened physically painful or something? That could cause some problems.

"How long will you guys be here in Central?" he finally asked.

Leo shook his head. "Not long. The duke has a few political to-doings, and then we're heading back home."

"With everything that's going on politically right now, it might take a little longer than you think. But… If we're on a time constraint, we'll have to think of something fast…"

"Unless they stayed here," said Al cheerily. "Then we wouldn't have to worry about it, and we could actually take the time to think of something that would work."

"They could." Ed offered them both a grin. "What do you guys think of Central? Is it a place you could hang around for a while?"

The foreigners exchanged glances. Elliot shrugged, and winced when he did so. Leo stared at him for a moment longer, and then nodded.

"I'd say we could. Especially now."

"The trouble will be convincing my father, but as we're on break at the moment, it shouldn't be too hard…" Elliot mused.

"Great!" Al's eyes seemed to smile with his voice.

"I'm sure in order for anything we say to you from now on to make sense, we'll probably have to tell you a little about-"

Somebody pounded on the suite's main door. "Elric brothers! I know you're in there! Why did you just up and disappear from the library like that!? We had no idea where you were! Colonel Mustang had us searching everywhere! He needs to see you right away about an incident at the library today that you were seen fleeing from!"

Ed sunk down in his seat, grumbling under his breath. Oh, of all times, why now…

"Who's that?" Leo asked.

"Ross… eh, she's…"

"One of our bodyguards," finished Al.

"Fantastic," Elliot muttered.

"If the Colonel's looking for us, brother, we should probably go." Al glanced at Ed, and then rose to his feet, towering over the rest of them.

Ed sighed, and stood as well. "Yeah, I guess."

"Elric brothers!"

"We're coming, we're coming!" Ed yelled at the door. Then he glanced between their two new acquaintances. "Hey, you wanna join us?"

"…Will they be all right with that?" Leo blinked at them.

"Sure! Why wouldn't they be?" Ed grinned, moving toward the door.

"We'll come only if, after this meeting with this colonel, you explain that metal arm of yours," said Elliot in all seriousness, eyes hard. "And why your brother wears that stuff."

"Deal. Come on! We ain't getting any younger standing around here!" Ed was the first out the door, and he darted past Ross and Brosh before they could say anything. Al's appearance and greeting threw them off even more, and they just sighed and sagged against the wall in exasperation.

Ed wasn't really in a hurry to see Mustang; no doubt, he would have a lot of explaining to do. He wasn't even entirely sure how he was gonna go about explaining. Right now, with everything happening as it was, a side incident with a foreign power was the last thing the military needed. He'd have to keep it simple and vague; tit for tat, an eye for an eye. The jerk deserved a taste of his own medicine. But the sooner Ed got this meeting over with, the sooner he could swap information with these two foreigners. All this talk of Chains and seals sounded interesting.

Elliot jogged up beside him, and fell into step. Ed couldn't help but notice that he was walking at a slower pace just to stay that way, though, and he stifled a grumble. Stupid tall people and their long strides… This kid wasn't even that much taller than him! Why was the world so unfair?

"So, Shorty," said Elliot, smirking as if he knew exactly what Ed was thinking, "who's this Colonel Mustang guy?"

"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU CALLING A WIMPY LITTLE SHORTY SMALLER THAN A FLEA, YOU BIG-MOUTHED JERK!?"

* * *

**A/N: Well... that strayed into AU territory quickly. O.o**


End file.
